


Learning Curves

by orphan_account



Category: Hairspray (2007)
Genre: F/M, Sneaking In, have to stay quiet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-09-19
Updated: 2008-09-19
Packaged: 2018-07-19 12:23:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7361380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>New lovers with little free time on their hands, Link and Tracy are getting a little desperate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Learning Curves

**Author's Note:**

> Same Universe as Softest Sound of Falling Rain. Probably should've made it a series... oops.

**Learning Curves**

  
  


Tracy tucked her feet up under her in her father’s favorite chair, absently twisting the phone cord around her finger. Her eyes watched her mother crossing the hallway with a basket of laundry and desperately wished she had her own phone in her room. 

  


“So, Darlin’, how was your day?” Link was asking on the other end of the line. “Did you miss me?”

  


“You know I did,” she said softly. She watched her mother head back outside with a basket, most likely to fetch wet laundry from the machines down stairs. She’d be outside for awhile. “In fact I really  _ really _ missed you.”

  


“Mmm,” he replied his voice deepening slightly. “I missed you too.”

  


Tracy paused for a moment, imagining him lying back against the pillows on his bed. Maybe his shirt was unbuttoned… She took a deep breath and sighed into the phone. 

  


“What’s wrong, baby doll?” he asked, concern evident in his tone.

  


“Nothing,” she said, knowing exactly what it was but not quite sure she could say it out loud. 

  


“Trace, we have a deal remember, now don’t try and get around it, I know that sigh. Something is bothering you.”

  


“It’s just that…” she laughed softly – self conscious – into the phone. “I feel like I’m going crazy.”

  


“What do you mean?” Link asked, still serious and not getting it at all and she wished she was there with him right now so that she could press him back against the pillows and…

  


“I feel like I’m going to come right out of my skin if I don’t get to touch you soon,” she breathed out in a rush, her eyes darting around to make sure neither of her parents was nearby. 

  


There was a long pause on the other end and she could hear him breathing. “Trace…”

  


“It’s been two weeks since we’ve been…  _ alone _ together,” Tracy said plaintively. “And I can’t think straight.  I was fine before. I only got a little distracted by thoughts of you every now and then, but now…” she took a deep, shaky breath and let it out slowly. “Now, ever since we… you know… well, out of the blue I’ll think about that night at the hotel or later... in the grass… and I just.” The tip of her finger was turning blue because she’d wrapped the phone cord so tightly around it. She spun her finger in the other direction. “How on earth did you manage all this time when you already knew what it was like!” she blurted and then bit her lip anxiously when he didn’t immediately answer. 

  


Many blocks away Link was feeling like his heart would pound right out of his chest. He wiped his palm on the thigh of his slacks and closed his eyes, images of Tracy in the midst of passion filling his mind. 

  


“I’m sorry we haven’t had any time together lately,” he said finally, his voice cracking on the raw pulse of desire he was trying to manage. “Seems like the universe is conspiring against us sometimes. If it’s any consolation… I miss you just as much Trace. I’ll be in the middle of stocking soda in the back room and I’ll get this picture of you, with your hair all loose around your shoulders and it’s all I can do not to just ditch it and go find you.”

  


“Well, how do you deal with that?” she asked. “I lay awake at night sometimes just… going crazy thinking about you.”

  


Oh god, Link thought pulling on his pants to make more room for the reaction his body was having to this conversation. “Is there anyway you could come over here?” he asked. “For once, no one is here but me.”

  


“Oh… god I wish. No, no what would my parents say?”

  


Link groaned, “Well… then, there… um, are ways to deal with it… you know? To tide you over,” he said feeling the heat rise in his body. There was a pause on the other end and Link realized something he hadn’t really ever thought about before, something he should easily have put together from all their time together but just hadn’t. 

  


“What do you mean?”

  


“Trace,” Link said knowing he was probably going to need a very long, very cold shower after this. “You’ve never… uh… touched yourself before?”

  


“Link what do you mean, how can a person not…”

  


“I don’t mean like that, Trace, I mean…” long slow breath, “touch yourself the way I would touch you if I was there right now.” He heard her breath hitch over the line and he felt certain parts of his body jump in response. “Where are you right now?”

  


“I’m in the living room…” God the way she sounded, innocent, aroused, it was driving him insane. 

  


“Can you go somewhere else?”

  


“We only have one phone.” Tracy pressed a hand to her chest trying to calm her heartbeat. She was burning up from the inside out right now and the sound of Link’s voice and the words he was saying were only serving as fuel on the flames.

  


“Trace?” she heard Link saying. She jumped as she heard the sound of her mother coming in from outside. 

  


“Link, my mom is coming in.”

  


“Okay, listen, I’m taking you out tomorrow okay?” he said. “I have to see you.”

  


She smiled, mollified slightly by the fact that he seemed to need her as much as she needed him. “Alright, I’ll be waiting with bells on.”

  


“Mmm, I would love to see you in nothing but bells.”

  


“Link!” she laughed blushing as her mother peered over at her before moving into the dining room. 

  


“Hey, Doll, you started this conversation.” Link said laughing. “Seven o’clock.”

  


“That’s too long…”

  


“I know, I’m sorry.” He took a deep breath. “I love you, Trace.”

  


“I love you too, Link,” she said softly. “Bye.”

  


Hanging up the phone was hard, but with the current focus of their conversation she figured it was probably for the best. It wasn’t exactly something she wanted to discuss while her mother was in the other room. She’d have to wait until tomorrow. Then she would get him to explain exactly what he meant.

  


Doing her best to put her frustrations aside for the moment, she moved into the dining room and began helping her mother fold the laundry she’d brought in. 

  


~

  


Hours later Link was lying awake in bed, restless. He couldn’t stop thinking about Tracy, about all the business of life that had been keeping them apart the last two weeks. He’d hardly had a moment to kiss her let alone anything else and now that he’d been with her, inside her, nothing seemed to assuage his need for her. It was ridiculous. 

  


A plan, birthed of need and desperation, formed in his mind and he threw off the blankets that covered him and started pulling on some clothes, moving quickly through the house as quietly as possible. 

  


He parked a block away so that the sound of his car wouldn’t alert her parents to his presence, or be seen if they happened to look outside. Tracy’s two story row house served triple duty. The first floor was occupied by her father’s business and what the business didn’t use was filled with two large washing machines, one industrial dryer and other laundry facilities. The second floor was where the family lived. He knew the layout fairly well since he’d spent a fair amount of time inside. He knew there was a fire escape in the back yard but he also knew it led to her parent’s bedroom window. Tracy’s room, which faced the street, was inaccessible from the outside.  

  


As he stood outside on the sidewalk, staring up at her window where her light showed her momentary silhouette against the curtains, he came to the full realization that he was crazy for even thinking about doing what he was thinking about doing. On the one hand, her father would go absolutely ape shit if he found him, on the other hand the look on Tracy’s face if he pulled it off would be absolutely priceless. He smiled in the light of the street lamp. 

  


Oh, he was crazy alright. He was downright certifiable. 

  


~

  


Tracy set her hair brush down, got up from her stool and went to finally turn off her bedroom light. She had already drank a glass of warm milk but even though her mother and father had gone to bed sometime ago, she was still wide awake. She couldn’t relax; all she could think about was Link and the things he had said to her over the phone. Her body responded as she thought about him and she flopped back on her bed with a groan of frustration. After a moment she opened her eyes and sat up. 

  


She looked around as if someone might be watching her and chewed her lip as she stood to her feet. Moving into the corner because it somehow felt more private, she slowly began to unbutton her pajama top and let it slide slowly off her shoulders. The feel of the flannel was soft as it moved across her hyper sensitive skin. Once it was discarded, she ran her fingers slowly up her own arms and experimentally across her chest until she had reached the tops of her breasts, the light touch raising goose bumps over her flesh. She closed her eyes and thought about Link as she cupped her own breasts and squeezed gently. 

  


Behind her she heard her door latch click and she spun around, startled and mortified as she crossed her arms over herself assuming her mother had come in to check on her after hearing her shuffling around. Instead she was met with a shock of an entirely different kind when she saw Link leaning back against her bedroom door, his cheeks flushed and his chest heaving. He was wearing just a white t-shirt and dark slacks, and his blue eyes glinted in the half light as they flitted from her eyes down to her chest.

  


“Link!” she said aloud startled and he shushed her, holding a finger to his lips as he strode toward her. She had to be dreaming! Her sexually frustrated mind had conjured him out of her imagination she was sure of it. He couldn’t possibly be here, she thought, then his hand was on her shoulder and the other one was tipping her face up to meet his as he kissed her passionately. His scent and warmth invaded her senses and she melted against him, kissing him back with every ounce of frustration she’d been storing up the last several days. 

  


“Oh god I missed you, babe,” Link whispered, kissing her cheeks and her eyebrows for good measure. 

  


“What on earth are you doing here!” she demanded in a hushed tone. “How the heck did you get in?”

  


“You want me to leave?”

  


“No, no no,” she said clinging to him and forgetting to cover herself. Link’s eyes darkened as his gaze roamed her chest and the hand on her shoulder slid down to take her breast, his thumb flicking over her nipple. “Oh god that feels so much better when you do it,” she whimpered and he stopped suddenly. Tracy opened her eyes and looked up at him questioningly.

  


“When I do… Who the hell else has been touching you?” he asked with a frown and Tracy covered her mouth to keep from giggling too loudly. She shook her head and leaned up to kiss him.

  


“Just me,” she said shyly, “I was trying to pretend it was you, but it just wasn’t the same.” 

  


“Yeah?” he growled low, caressing her breast again as he nudged her back toward the bed. 

  


“Mmm,” she responded, unsure if she was affirming or just giving over to the heat burning inside of her at his touch. Together they climbed back onto her bed, joined at the lips, wrinkling the surface of her pink patchwork comforter. 

  


“So,” Link said when she was propped neatly up on her pillows. “About this frustration you’ve been feeling…”

  


“Link,” she whined trying to pull him back to her. He shook his head, his eyes roaming over her studiously. 

  


“Take these off,” he said, running a fingertip over her pajama bottoms. Tracy’s dark eyes looked back at him heatedly and she only hesitated for a moment before doing as he said. She was aroused by this play and his authoritative manner, she had to admit. “Now these,” he continued slipping his finger under the elastic on her hip. She slid her panties down her legs and kicked them to the floor, her eyes on his the entire time. She trembled when he pulled his lower lip between his teeth, his gaze on the juncture of her thighs. She was completely naked now and he was leaning over her fully clothed but still she felt completely safe. 

  


“You are so gorgeous, have I told you that?” he said softly, looking into her eyes. 

  


“Once or twice,” she replied smiling at him. 

  


“Then I’m an ass,” he said. “You should hear it at least a hundred times a day. I’ll try to do better.”

  


“Link,” she whispered, cupping his cheek and running her thumb over his lips. She leaned up and kissed him and he kissed her back softly for a few moments before taking her hands and pressing her back against her pillows. 

  


“You’re distracting me,” he said with a smirk and she looked up at him a little confused.

  


“You didn’t come here to make love to me?” she asked quietly, sounding disappointed. 

  


Link grinned then and she knew he was up to something naughty, it was a familiar look and it made her entire body tremble in response. “Oh, I did, but first there’s something I want to teach you.”

  


“What’s that?” she demanded, grinning like a minx. 

  


“I’m going to show you how to deal with the times we can’t be together and guarantee you’ll be thinking of me, and only me every,” kiss, “damn,” kiss, “time.” He kissed her deeply and then pulled away. 

  


Tracy watched hypnotized as he took both of her hands in his, adjusting his hold so that he had as much control over them as possible. He drew them down her chest, his fingers and hers both grazing her skin. He traced soft circles over her belly and down over her thighs. Using his knees, he spread her legs, her hands still locked with his. He dragged them up her inner thighs and through her coarse curls. Tracy felt her fingers touch herself and she jerked slightly. She had touched herself there before but never in this context and she wondered why she hadn’t thought to do it before, why she had thought it was somehow not okay. 

  


Link laid her hands gently on her hips for a moment and drew his own finger over her, tracing over soft, sensitive flesh, his focus so intense she thought she could feel his gaze as well as his fingers. 

  


“Touch yourself right here,” he said, grazing the place he referred to and Tracy gasped and did what he said touching herself tentatively. “How does that feel?” he asked and she couldn’t answer she just swallowed, her eyes on his hands where they rested on her pale thighs. She drew a soft circle on her skin and it felt amazing, much like it had when Link had touched her there before. “Do what feels good,” he said watching her fingers and Tracy grew bolder at the look in his eyes. She could see he was breathing heavy and the thought that he liked what he saw encouraged her and she brought her other hand over to help, not quite sure what would feel best. 

  


She had no idea where this boldness was coming from but as she watched him watching her, and felt the building pulse inside her at her own touch she couldn’t help but think that this was the most intimate thing she’d ever shared with anyone. Her eyes drifted up to his face and she found him looking back at her. He looked half starved as he stared at her, biting his lip so hard she could see the indentation in his skin when he released it. Link reached down and undid his slacks and Tracy watched as one of his hands slid inside. The thought of getting to do that herself sometime soon fluttered briefly into her mind and another wave of arousal rolled through her and she increased the pace of her fingers, gasping softly. 

  


Link’s hand inside his slacks was moving steadily and she heard him moan quietly, she whimpered in response and then bit her lip to keep herself quiet. It didn’t stop her from gasping when Link traced a line with his other hand up her inner thigh before slipping it inside her. She arched up off the bed, her thighs tightening around his knees as he stroked into her, the pressure and pleasure building and building until it broke over her and she trembled as wave after wave of pleasure pulsed through her body. 

  


Link watched hungrily as she came, feeling her inner muscles clench around his finger, watching her eyes drift closed. He nearly tore his own clothes off, yanking his shirt off over his head and tossing his pants off before grabbing the condom he’d shoved in his pocket before leaving home. 

  


He looked up to see Tracy watching him intently as he slid the thin layer of protection over his erection. A moment later he was pushing into her, feeling her heat close around him still trembling with aftershocks. Tracy reached for him and he grabbed her wrists, holding them just above her head as he withdrew and thrust into her again. She arched into him, gasping silently with each stroke of him inside her. He ducked his head, releasing her hands, and lifted her breast to his mouth, barely able to reach because of the height difference and she complained as it interrupted the rhythm he had started. He just chuckled softly and placed her hands on her breasts. 

  


“You’ll have to do it for me then,” he said and Tracy grinned wickedly. Needing no further instruction she gently pinched her own nipples, first one and then the other and Link swore softly and increased his pace. 

  


He thrust hard into her and her bed squeaked in protest. They both froze, newly aware of their precarious situation. Tracy pressed her hands against the headboard to try and counteract the motion he was creating. They experimented until they were once again arching together in a heated rhythm, Link’s hands gripping her hips as he pounded into her. 

  


Tracy could feel the pleasure building inside of her again; surprised it was possible even as she could feel it begin to lap at her senses, pulling her under. This time it was slightly different, shivering in her hips and pulsing up her spine. She whimpered, choking on the scream she was trying to suppress and Link kissed her hard, swallowing the sound as she shattered again, coming hard against his thrusts. Her grip on the headboard slipped and her arm shot out, reaching for anything to anchor herself and she knocked her lamp off the table next to her bed and they both tensed at the loud, shattering noise. 

  


Link could feel his climax just out of reach as he stilled over Tracy, listening intently for any sounds from the house beyond her room. Moments seemed like ages with her body still throbbing around him. He clenched his teeth, trying to be still and listen. 

  


“It’s okay,” Tracy whispered, “we’d hear them by now.” She repeated the words as she lifted herself, pressing into his slender hips. Link swore softly as she moved against him and thrust back. In moments he was thrusting fiercely into her and Tracy was in ecstasy, with the feel of him inside her and the sound of him moaning against her neck, murmuring soft words of pleasure and praise. 

  


“Oh, Trace, you’re so wet, so hot. Good god, baby, you feel so good.”

  


Tracy wrapped her arms around him and gripped his backside, moving with him, urging him on with her touch. “So do you, Link, I swear I’ll never get enough of you.” She said kissing and biting his shoulder. Then he was trembling above her, moaning loudly as he came and she held him close, never wanting to let go.

  


\--

  


Tracy awoke from what was probably the best sleep of her life so far, to the warmth of Link’s body curled against her. His head was on her shoulder, his hand resting possessively over her left breast. Morning sunshine beamed in from her bedroom window, and she felt absolutely glorious… for about ten seconds. Then she realized that Link was here, with his hand on her breast, in her bed, in her bedroom, in her mother’s house and there was no damn lock on her bedroom door. 

  


Link chose that moment of pure panic to lift his head, grinning at her sleepily and leaning up to kiss her. It took her lack of response before he woke up enough to realize what the problem was. His blue eyes went wide and he looked back at her with equal panic. 

  


“Oh shit,” he said and Tracy nodded emphatically. As if on cue, there was a polite knock on her door.

  


“Tracy, Hun, it’s time to get up!” Edna called from the hallway and the two shared a brief moment of panic before the doorknob started to turn and Link rolled swiftly off the bed, landing loudly on the floor with a thud. “Tracy!” Edna called loudly, opening the door quickly and stepping inside looking worried. “Are you alright… Tracy!” Tracy sat up in bed quickly, clutching her blanket to her chest. 

  


“Ma, you can’t just come into my room!”

  


“Tracy? When did you start sleeping…in the… in your… without a stitch of clothing on?”

  


“Mom,” Tracy took a deep breath and released it. “I’m not a kid anymore mom, alright, and I… was… hot…last night.”

  


There was a shared moment of uncomfortable silence between mother and daughter. Under the bed, Link’s gaze shifted from Edna’s slippered feet to the other side of the bed where he suddenly spotted his slacks crumpled up beneath the window. He chewed his lip as he shifted toward them, hoping they hadn’t already been spotted. 

  


“I’m sorry to shock you ma, and I didn’t mean to be rude… I just, I think, at eighteen, I’m entitled to a little more privacy,” Tracy was saying above him. He waited until her mother answered, until they were engaged in conversation about propriety and privacy, before he walked his fingers out across the carpet and hooked onto the waistband of his pants and started pulling them toward him, biting his lip and praying to heaven the belt buckle didn’t jingle. 

  


“Well, I’m still shocked, that’s all I can say…” Edna sputtered. Tracy held her breath as her mother looked around the room aimlessly. She had already spotted Link’s t-shirt curled up behind the door and she desperately hoped her mother wouldn’t do the same. 

  


“I’m sorry ma, I won’t do it again…”  _ please go, please go, please go… _

  


With an uncomfortable nod, Edna began closing the door. “I’ll have breakfast ready in a little while, I’ll see you at the table.” The click of the door closing was one of the sweetest sounds she had ever heard. Link scrambled out from under the bed and peeked at her over the top of the mattress. They looked at each other speechless for a long moment.

  


“We are so not out of the woods yet,” Tracy said. 

  


Link was distracted by the expanse of bare skin and the dimples of her backside open to him from his particular vantage point. He squeezed his eyes closed and tried to focus on the problem at hand. He looked at his watch. “I’m gonna be late for work.”

  


“Work?” Tracy hissed incredulously. “If you get caught in here you’ll be too dead to hold down a steady job and so will I!”

  


“Right,” Link said waving his hand in the air. He stood to his feet. “It would really help though if you got dressed… you’re a little distracting to my teenage hormones sitting there naked and rumpled and…”

  


“LINK!” 

  


“Right, right sorry…”

  


Tracy eyed him up and down, unable not to enjoy the view of him in all his nude glory. She bit her lip; this was not the time for wandering eyes. “You haven’t got much room to talk…” she pointed out and he looked down at himself.

  


“Okay… boxers?” he yanked on the blankets and Tracy tried not to giggle as he climbed underneath to look for his errant underwear. She stood up and hurried to her dresser and dug out underwear of her own. She turned in time to see Link pulling his boxers up and he looked over at her intently, watching as she wrestled her own undergarments into place. Men had it so much easier she thought, twisting her bra into position, but the idea flew right out of her head when he came over and slipped his fingers beneath her bra straps, straightening them so that they were flat against her skin. 

  


She looked up at him, blinking and he kissed her forehead. “I love you Trace, I’m sorry about this… it was…”

  


“No… no I don’t regret it… it was amazing and … I love you too.”

  


“Okay…” he said pulling away reluctantly. “Clothes… we need clothes.”

  


Moments later they were dressed and Link was lying on the floor on the other side of Tracy’s bed while Tracy went out to face the house. Her mother was in the kitchen sliding plates of food in the oven. She looked up when she heard Tracy. “Oh hi, Hun, your father has decided he needs to do something in the shop before having his breakfast and you know how he is. We’ll be waiting ‘til night for him… but I told him I’d hold it for fifteen minutes. I’m gonna run out and throw some clothes on the line.”

  


_ Thank you god! _ Tracy thought rolling her eyes to the ceiling.  _ I know I’m a sinner and I don’t deserve this but thank you thank you thank you… _ she wondered briefly if she should cross herself or something then she watched, attempting her best version of nonchalant, as her mother sashayed down the hallway. Once the back door had banged shut she ran down to her room and slammed open the door, causing Link to jump and start for a hiding position under the bed. Then Tracy was there grabbing his hand and pulling him through the house.

  


“Tracy?” he said turning and walking backwards she shoved him down the hall. 

  


“Mom’s out back, dad’s in the shop… oh god he might see you but I think this is our only shot…” she shoved him down the hallway and followed him down the stairs to the front door, pushing him outside gracelessly.

  


“Hey!” he said sweeping back up the steps and grabbing her for a kiss. “See you later.”

  


“Mmm” she said kissing him back then pushing him away. “You have to go!” 

  


He pulled her back holding her tightly against his body as he looked at her intently.

  


“Link, someone might see.”

  


“Let them see…”

  


“Link…” his hands were smoothing over her back, comforting and possessive at the same time.

  


“One of these days, I’m gonna wake up to you in the morning all warm and soft like today, and there won’t anything standing in our way. And you know what I’m going to do?” 

  


His voice was dark, intense and Tracy could only blink up at him with need. “I’m going to make slow, sweet love to you, with the morning sunshine pouring in on us and nothing or no one will be able to stop me.” 

  


Tracy was clinging to his shirt. She heard her mother’s footsteps at the back of the house and as panic warred with the need inside her she pulled him down, kissing him hard, letting him know she was holding him to that promise. 

  


“Oh god, Link you  _ have to go _ .”

  


“I know.” He kissed her three times quick and pulled himself away from her starting down the sidewalk, turning every other step to look back at her.

  


Tracy slammed the door shut, startled, as her mother appeared above stairs, looking down at her curiously.

  


“Tracy, who was at the door?”

  


“No one ma…”

  


“Oh don’t be silly, Tracy,” she said coming down the stairs and throwing open the door. She spotted Link just starting to cross the street. “Link!” she called and the slender male frame froze like some actor in the movies who’d just been shot, freezing for a moment before succumbing to his end. “Tracy, why didn’t you invite Link in for breakfast?”

  


“I… uh… didn’t think you’d approve ma, it’s so early…” 

  


“Link,” Edna called as Link turned slowly toward her, trying to shove his hair into some semblance of order. “Come in and have breakfast.”

  


Link trotted back, nervousness in his every step. He greeted Mrs. Turnblad politely and she looked him over with surprise. “Why Link, your hair’s a mess and where’s your shirt?”

  


“I’m sorry ma’am I wasn’t planning on staying…” he said with a sidelong gaze at Tracy. “I just missed Tracy so much I uh couldn’t wait…”

  


“Well get in here…” she said taking his shoulder and ushering him inside. She looked curiously out at the street. 

  


“Where on earth is your car, Hun?”

  



End file.
